The Horizon T73 Treadmill Review – The Same but Different

Ohiyo!

From time to time, loyal readers, you’ve heard me mention one of the DOJO members, HIKARU. Every so often the youngest sensei here at the DOJO does something that impresses your Treadmill Sensei…it doesn’t happen all that often but when it does it tends to be something spectacular. In this case, Sensei Hikaru has tracked down and brought to the DOJO a brand new Horizon T73 Treadmill for us to review weeks before its official release in October 2006. Hikaru advised that I just take the treadmill for a workout and not ask any questions. Also, he said he might need bail money.

I’m joking about that last part.

Having had a bit of advance warning I was able to obtain a Horizon T63 to compare along side the Horizon T73 treadmill that is replacing it. Here’s what we found.

In spite of looking quite a bit different, the Horizon T73 is almost identical to the T63 in features and performance. It has the same 2.25 horsepower motor as the unit it is updating. The same 20×55 deck size, 2.4″ rollers, 3/4″ deck, 12mph speed, 12% incline, 2.4″ rollers, 8 programs and so on. Although the units have differing cosmetic appearances they are very close in specs.

The monitors are one of the main differences. Where the old Horizon T63 had a blue backlit LCD screen the new Horizon T73 treadmill has an orange backlit screen. This is probably because one of the major complaints about the old Horizon units was how difficult some people found them to read. The orange is actually quite a bit easier on the eyes.

On to the performance. I recruited young Johnny, the DOJO intern (I like to call him my person assistant), to help me run tests on the two treadmills. He’s about 25 years younger than I am and follows orders really well, making him perfect as a guinea pig.

We ran the units on 30 minute medium work out routines, making use of the 6 preset programs that come with both units. Johnny alternated between walking and light jogging on both machines. Both units held up very well to the longer workout, but Johnny did find the Horizon T73 to have a slight edge up on sturdiness particularly in regards to the handles.

The motors ran well and the Horizon T73 maintained its speed and power very well through the entire workout, even with Johnny’s slightly larger than average size. It also looks like Horizon improved the performance of the hydraulics on the T73. As good as they were on the Horizon T63, the T73 hydraulics give you an even smoother folding and unfolding for the unit.

The Horizon T73 treadmill is a great replacement for the very fine Horizon T63 from last year. For keeping up quality and performance, the Treadmill Sensei gives the T73 Treadmill by Horizon 3.5 out of 5 Golden Buddahs.

-The Treadmill Sensei
http://www.treadmillsensei.com